Page 50 of Power Term

“If you’re asking if it was a difficult choice, no. If you’re asking if it feels like my fucking heart is ripped in two right now, yes. We all know what we’re risking when we sign on with the agency. Davis knew, Grem knew, I knew. I just never expected the choice between them and you to be so easy.”

A roar of voices and laughter sounds above us. Both our gazes lift to the ceiling.

“It won’t be long now, Mess. We’ve been down here a while. I need you to stay strong. Stay strong for me, for Tae, for—” He clears his throat. “For Tank. Don’t let his sacrifice be for nothing. You live.”

“Live for what if you’re not with me?” The jabbing pain in my side turns to more of a burn as my breaths quicken. “You think you’re the only one who can’t picture a life without us together? Without you? No.” I shake my head with the same conviction I put in the short word.

“Did you not hear me, Randi? I’m not strong enough to watch them hurt you. Don’t make me see that. Don’t let that be the last thing I see.”

“Same, Trouble.”

“Mess.” He groans. “Please. Let me do this for you. For Taeler. For our country. Let my sacrifice mean something.”

Hot streams of tears track down my cheeks before dripping to the sheet.

“I don’t want to do this alone,” I whisper.

“Do what, baby?”

“Any of it. I finally have you, finally have someone I can depend on and who sees me. The real me and still loves me despite it—”

“Because of it, Mess. I love youbecauseof the mess that you’re so aptly nicknamed for.”

“I love you, Trey, and I don’t want to live another minute without you in it. You’re it for me. Us, you and me. You promised me a future,” I cry. “You promised me forever.”

“I know. I know I did, and I wish I could keep that promise, Randi, but it’s just not in the cards. We knew Whit was a malicious bastard after the poisonings, but I never thought—wenever thought—he’d go to this extent. That was my mistake in underestimating how deep his hate and need for revenge ran for you.” A smirk tugs at his lips. “You couldn’t have chosen a less diabolical nemesis?”

“What can I say? I’ve always had lofty goals.” I sink my teeth into my lower lip to calm the trembling. A fresh trickle of blood seeps over my tongue from the reopened split. “All this, today, the poisoning, the attacks during the campaign… all of it is because of him, wasn’t it? All because I didn’t want to be Kyle’s wife and chose the option that helped better me, better our country.”

“Oh, Trailer.” I twist, a bolt of stabbing pain shooting down my spine as I crane my neck in the direction of Shawn’s voice. “This is about much more than that.”

The creak of wood draws my attention to the set of stairs I noticed when I first woke up. Dressed in a different pair of dark jeans and a pristine white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, he descends the stairs.

“This is a little overboard even for you.” Rolling back to my side, I face Trey, whose whole focus is zeroed in on Shawn, the vulnerability I witnessed earlier completely gone, leaving a hard stone face in its place. “You’ve taken pouting because you didn’t get your way to a whole new level.”

“I’m not pouting,” Shawn says, his voice now directly behind me. “It’s called restitution, and I plan to use you two to fully recover what I’ve lost.”

“Your mind?” I snap. “This is crazy, Shawn.”

“Ah, see, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m focused, driven. I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand the need to recover what was taken from me.”

“It was never yours to begin with. I was the reason we won. You wouldn’t have made it onto the final ticket. I did that, my background and compassion for the American people. They would’ve seen through your fake exterior to your psycho soul and run the other way. Don’t talk like winning the non-incumbent ticket was a done deal.”

“We would’ve found a way. It was Birmingham’s advisors who suspected we would lose if we didn’t have someone more….”

“Trustworthy?” I pipe up.

“Common.”

“I’ll testify to the fact that there is nothing common about Randi Sawyer.”

“Thank you.” I shoot a small smile at Trey, who doesn't even notice as he tracks Shawn’s movements.

“You stole the power from me, and power is everything in DC. After Birmingham chose you for a running mate, I was nothing in that damn city. Connections, business relations, everything went to shit the moment he announced you as his VP candidate. You cost me millions.” The bite in his harsh voice makes me cringe.

“Sorry?” I squeak.

“Sorry?” The chuckle he gives as he rounds the bed makes me shudder. “Sorry doesn't even begin to cover what I’ve lost because of you. My family name means nothing now. All they see is the man who was passed over for a trailer trash whore. You made me look like a fool. Everything I’ve worked for my entire life crumbled at my feet that day, then again when you and Birmingham somehow won the election. Which is why you’re here, to ease the suffering you caused me, my family name. Rent-a-cop here is a bonus I wasn’t expecting. Two birds, one stone today or whenever we finish this. I won’t lie, the idea of this extended for a few days sounds perfect to me.”

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